The Martian directed by Ridley Scott
Matt Damon shines as a stranded astronaut in the cinematic spectacular, The Martian (2015) directed by Ridley Scott. This film is about Mark Watney who finds himself left behind on Mars. Watney and his fellow crew members were in the middle of a research project on the Red Planet when a fierce windstorm caused the astronauts to abort their mission and return to their ship. A piece of debris struck Watney, carrying him off into the storm. His team presumed he was dead after he did not respond to their radio calls, so they left the planet without him. The next day, or sol, surprise, surprise Watney is not dead! Of course, the communication antenna at the research facility was broken in the storm, so Watney is completely cut off from Earth. All he finds himself with are the materials left behind by his crew, recordings of Happy Days and his captains 80s music. He has to figure out how he can survive on a planet all alone and declares that he will have to science the s**t out of it.
What Watney experiences during his time alone is carefully documented by him in video diaries throughout the movie. Watney is a botanist. By using his vast knowledge of plants, he proudly colonizes Mars, which is unable to sustain plant life. He does it by growing a food supply of potatoes in a makeshift greenhouse and fertilizes them with the solid waste left behind by his crew.
Watney begins to find solutions to whatever problems he encounters with his limited amount of materials. What does he do when the air lock portion of the building malfunctions throws him to the ground, cracks his helmet, and rips a hole in the building? Duct tape! He is able to use the tape to repair his helmet and tape up the hole, making it habitable with enough oxygen. These are just some of the challenges Watney faces which lead up to the ultimate challenge of all, not dying on this planet.
NASA realizes that Watney is still alive after noticing objects being moved around. They are obviously shocked. They had just released the statement that Watney was dead and a funeral had already been held for him. NASA decided that Watneys crew, which was still on their way back to Earth, did not need to know he was still alive because it may distract them and cause them want to go and get him.
When Watney was finally able to make contact with Earth, and makes his point clear that he is upset that NASA had not told his crew he was still alive, NASA decided that maybe it might be nice they should tell them. During this time, Watneys wits keep him alive while back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists were working nonstop to find a possible solution to bring him home. It was not until a young scientist proposed a method that would allow Watneys crew to be able to endure enough force, and would let them reroute their ship to Mars. When Watneys crew get the news that their fellow crew member is still alive and thriving, they make the unanimous decision to lengthen their journey and return to Mars to get Watney
Though the movie is long, it does no contain a dull moment. The 108 million dollar budget seems to have been put to very good use. The special effects were done extremely well and made it feel as if you were stuck in space along with Watney. The critics and viewers both loved it, resulting in an overall 92% liking on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ridley Scotts The Martian is definitely one of the top movies of the 21st century. It is a landmark of the cinema. The Martian is an intergalactic spectacle and Damon does a phenomenal job in engaging our interest, getting our sympathy, and testing the level of our anxiety with his constant close calls of death.
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